Told in mostly chronological fashion without a narrator, the film relies largely on Kochiyama's own words from interviews, speeches, and smaller group meetings, along with interviews with her family members and friends. The filmmakers also use a variety of archival film clips—particularly from the 1960s and 1970s—stills, and music. After an introduction to Kochiyama, her family, and her political philosophy, the film turns to the World War II era, as Kochiyama talks about the arrest, detention, and eventual death of her father, a fisherman in Southern California, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor. She and her husband William Kochiyama talk about their and their family's wartime incarceration (she at
Jerome
and he at
Topaz
) and eventually coming to see the commonalities of their treatment with that of other groups in the U.S. From there, the film traces her politicization and activism over the next decades: moving the family to Harlem in 1960 and becoming involved in local Freedom Schools and protests for jobs for African American and Puerto Rican workers; meeting and befriending Malcolm X; getting involved in the early Asian American Movement; involvement with the Black Panthers and Young Lords and the government repression of those groups; activism on behalf of political prisoners; involvement in the Japanese American
Redress Movement
; and her continued activism at age 70.

Yuri Kochiyama: Passion for Justice
was funded in part by the National Asian American Telecommunications Association. Co-director and co-producer Tajiri had previously made the acclaimed
History and Memory
(1992), based on her family's incarceration experience, and would go on to address the topic again in the 1997 dramatic film
Strawberry Fields
.

For More Information

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

Chronology

Geography

Point of View

Theme

Availability

Free On Web

Teacher Guide

Learn more in the Densho Encyclopedia, a free on-line resource covering the key concepts, people, events, and organizations that played a role in the forced removal and incarceration of Japanese Americans during World War II.

This material is based upon work assisted by a grant from the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Park Service. Any opinions, findings, and conclusions or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Useful Links

The Resource Guide to Media on the Japanese American Removal and Incarceration is a free project of Densho. Our mission is to preserve the testimonies of Japanese Americans who were unjustly incarcerated during World War II before their memories are extinguished. We offer these irreplaceable firsthand accounts, coupled with historical images and teacher resources, to explore principles of democracy, and promote equal justice for all.